Shears



Jan. 20, 1942. J. H. MEDLEN sHEARs Filed Jan. 27, 1943.

0\\ f l l INVENToR ATTORNEYS Patented Jan. 20, .1942

UNETEB STATES PATENT OFFICEl SHEARS John Herman lVIedlen, Red Cloud, Nebr.

Application January 27, 1941,. Serial No. 376.199.

4 Claims.

The present invention relates to improvements in shears and more particularly to the type used for clipping or shearing sheep.

An important object of the invention resides in the provision of shears including a novel type of compressed air means for operating the shearing or clipping knife.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved shears comprising a stationary and a reciprocating knife, the reciprocating knife being driven by a compressor which is encased in the handle of the shears and under constant control of the operator.

A further object of the invention is to provide shears of the above character, the construction of which permits the shearing of sheep in a rapid and ecient manner while reducing to a minimum the possibility of cutting or otherwise injuring the bodies of the sheep.

A still further object of the invention resides in the provision of shears, the cutting blade of which is adapted to be operated by compressed air which is admitted to theshears by a flexible tubing, the construction of which gives the operator more freedom of movement in shearing around the legs, neck, etc., of the sheep mate,- rially facilitating the sheep shearing operation.

The invention also consistsl in. certain other features of construction and in the combination and arrangement of the several parts, to be hereinafter fully described, illustrated inthe accompanying drawing and speciiically pointed out in the appended claims.

In describing my invention in detail,V reference will be had to the accompanying drawingwherein like characters denote like or corresponding parts throughout the several views, and in which:

Figure l is a side elevational view partly in vertical section taken on line I-l of Figure 2.

Figure 2 is a longitudinal sectional View taken substantially on line 2--2 of Figure l.

Figure 3 is a vertical sectional View taken substantially on line 3 3 of Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a side elevational View of the rear face of the shears.

Figure 5 is an enlarged detail elevational view illustrating the manner of associating the reciprocating cutting blade with the air compressor.

Figure 6 is a detail sectional view taken substantially on line 6 6 of Figure 1.

Figure 7 is a detail top plan View of one section of the shears.

Referring to the drawing for a more detailed description thereof, the improved shears are generally designated by the reference numeral 8 and include a casing 9 provided at its'. lower edge with teeth Ill. The casing 9 is substantially rectangular-shaped and extending rearwardly therefrom is a hollow elongated handle IIv adapted-Y to/ be engaged when operating the shears. As best shown in Figures 1 and 2 of the drawing, the handle II is of hollow formation, accessv thereto being obtained through the plate I2: removably held by means of the fastener I3.

A blade I4 having teeth I5 formed onV its bottom edge is mounted within the casing for recprocating movement with relation thereto, said blade having its upper edge I6 reduced in thickness for engagement in, back of a lip I'Il formed on the upper edge of the casing 9. As is to be readily understood, the blade` I4' reciprocates freely when driven by a compressor to be. herein.- after described with the reducededge i6 and lip IFI serving to retain the. blade in contactual/ relation with the casing. The bladeA Illl is heldl under tension by means of an elongated spring I8,l the ends of which engage studs I9 carried by the casing 9 and` which are held thereon by means of thumb nuts or the like 2.0. Tension of the blade can be increased or decreased by tightening or releasing the thumb nuts 29.

The portion of the casing Sadjacent the handle II nearthe upper end thereof is extendedV` as in,- dicated at 2I to form a cylindrical motor,l chamber 22. A rotor 23 is mounted on its shaft 24 within' a bearing 25 positioned in the chamber 22, the periphery of said rotor being formed with a multiplicity of pockets 26Which receive a charge of compressed air for driving the rotor. A circular grove 2'I is formed in one face of thev rotor and eccentrically thereof in which is disposed a pin 28 projecting from the blade I4. The pin 28 travels in the -groove 2l as motion is imparted to the rotor 23 for driving the blade Ill in a reciprocatory manner.

The rotor 23 is completely enclosed so-that the compressed air will effectively drive the same, the blade I4 forming the front Wall of the enclosure. As shown in Figure 2, a boss 29 extends from the casing 9 and cooperates to form one wall of the motor chamber and the blade I4 is offset laterally as indicated at 30 overlapping the boss 29 and cooperating with the casing 9 to form a closed chamber for the rotor. The offset portion 30 is of such a size that as the blade I4 is reciprocated and reaches its outward limit, it will still encase the rotor.

Air under pressure for driving the rotor 21 is delivered thereto through the nozzle 3| coupled as indicated at 32 with a tube 33, said tube extending longitudinally of the handle and adapted to have its rear end 34 connected by a hose to a source of supply. A valve, of conventional construction, is disposed in the connection 32 being under the control of a button 35 projecting upwardly from the handle II. The button 35 is formed with a stem 36 having connection with a lever 31 attached to the valve and upon depressing the button against tension of the spring 38, the valve is opened to admit air to the rotor and upon the release of pressure on the button tion closing the valve through the lever 31. The air is exhausted from the rotor through the outlet '39 formed in the casing 9.

The casing 9 is provided at its front end with a shock absorber consisting of a spring 4 disposed on a stem 4I. at right angles as indicated at 42 and is normally in contact with the spring 40 so that movement of the blade towards the'handle compresses the spring to prevent undue shock to the blade.

An elongated roller 43 is attached to the rear side of the casing 9, said roller being journalled in brackets 44 and as more particularly shown in Figure 3 of the drawing the roller 43 is partially embedded in the rear wall of the casing. The roller functions when the shears arein cutting position and aids in maintaining them at the correct angle for properly shearing the sheep.

It is thought that the operation of the shears is readily apparent from the above description when taken in connection withthe accompanying drawing. The rotor 23 is under the constant attention of the operator of the shears and the amount of air is controlled by operation of the button 35 for increasing or decreasing the speed of the rotor and likewise the reciprocatory motion of the cutting blade I4. The operator grasps the handle II and places the shears with the roller 43 against the body of the sheep and the rotor 23 is started by depressing the button 35 to open the valve in the nozzle 3I. Rotation of the rotor drives the blade I4 through its pin connection 28 in engagement with the eccentric groove 21. The handle II is arranged relative to the casing 9 so as to give the operator complete vision of his work at all times with the resultant less danger of injury to the body of the sheep. The roller 43 in addition to maintaining the shears at a proper angle serves to roll out the Wrinkles of the body of the sheep to minimize the possibility of cutting the skin. The air outlet 3| will discharge the cut wool away from the sheep and at the same time aid in removing dirt, dust and the like from the sheared wool.

Also it will be understood, of course, by those skilled in the art that variations in the hereinabove described device involving the substitution of substantial equivalents for the devices dethe spring 38 returns the same to normal posiinvention is capable of extended application and is not confined to the exact showing of the drawing nor to the precise construction described and, therefore, such changes and modications may be made therein as do not affect the spirit of the invention nor exceed the scope thereof as expressed in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a shearing implement, a body having cutting teeth formed at one edge thereof, a reciprocatory blade mounted on the Abody having cutting teeth in cooperative relation with the teeth of the body, means mounted on the body and connected with the blade for reciprocating the latter, and a roller rotatably mounted on the body on the side opposite the blade for guiding The end of the bladeV I4 is beni l having cutting teeth formed along a longitudiscribed are intended to be comprehended within the spirit of the present invention and that the nal side edge thereof, a blade slidably mounted on the body having cutting teeth in c o-acting relation with the teeth on the body, a rotor journalled on the body, a nozzle disposed to direct fluid under pressure against the rotor for rotating the same, a spring pressed valve operable to control the passage of fluid through the nozzle, and means connecting the blade with the rotor for reciprocating the blade during rotary operation of the said rotor.

3. In a shearing implement, an elongated body having cutting teeth formed along a longitudinal side edge thereof, a blade slidably mounted on the body having cutting teeth in co-acting relation with the teeth on the body, a rotor journalled on the body, a nozzle disposed to direct fluid under pressure against the rotor for rotating the same, a spring pressed valve operable to control the passage of iluid through the nozzle, the said rotor having an annular groove formed eccentrically in one side thereof, and a pin attached to the blade and engaging the said annular groove whereby rotation of the rotor will impart reciprocatory movement to the blade.

4. In a shearing implement, an elongated body having cutting teeth formed along one longitudinal edge thereof, a blade slidably connected with the body having cutting teeth in co-acting relation with the cutting teeth of the body, a rotor journalled on the body, means connecting the rotor with the blade for reciprocating the latter upon rotation of the rotor, a nozzle mounted on the body and positioned to direct air under pressure against the rotor to rotatably drive the same, a valve mounted to control the passage of compressed air through the nozzle, a member slidably mounted on the body and connected with the valve for operating the same, and a spring pressed element attached to the said valve actuating member operative to yieldingly close the valve and manually compressible to open the valve to effect operation of the rotor and blade.

JOHN HERMAN MEDLEN. 

